Lecture 1: Introduction
A digital society?
¡ Interactive and entertainment media are deeply integrated into our everyday life
¡ They have significantly altered ‘the way we do things’
§ Changes in our individual lives
§ Changes in our society
What is interactivity?
Affordances theory
à is interactivity a technological affordance?
What are technological affordances?
¡ “Perceptions of an object’s utility, its possibilities for enabling (& constraining) human
action” (Gibson, 1986)
® Functional view
® Relational view
® Contextual view
The affordances checklist
Three threshold criteria to be an affordance:
¡ Criteria #1: neither the object nor a feature of the object
the relationship between person and object means that “affordances neither belong
to the environment nor the individual, but rather to the relationship between
individuals and their perceptions of environments”
¡ Criteria #2: not the outcome
Cf. unintended consequences// Function Creep
¡ Criteria #3: has variability
Features are present or absent
Affordances are gradual (technologies can vary in the extent to which they ‘afford’
something)
An object or technology is well-designed when its affordances are readily and easily perceivable
from its features
Technological features and affordances
Interactivity is an affordance that users can perceive when the structural features of a
technological interface are well-designed.
As a side note …
Affordances remains a fuzzy concept, that is often misused… you may notice this when
processing literature on digital culture (perhaps also the literature for this course)…
1
,Interactivity: an individual in interaction with technology
Individuals ‘in interaction’ with technology
¡ What is the psychology of interactivity?
¡ In other words:
When individuals interact with technology…
Where is interactivity situated?
¡ What are its psychological effects?
¡ Is there between- and within-person variability?
Interactivity as ‘communication’
¡ When a user interacts with a technology…
§ They interact with an ‘interface’
Where is interactivity situated?
At the level of the source, the medium and the message Variability in interactivity = to what
extent can the source, medium and message be altered by the user?
Level of medium: modality interactivity
In what modality is the message processed?
¡ Modality interactivity:
§ Number of modalities present in one medium
§ Multi-mediality: extent to which modalities are simultaneously active
¡ Each modality and each combination of different modalities has a different influence on
the amount of perceptual bandwidth utilized.
¡ Extent to which sensory channels must operate together to build a mental representation
At the level of the source
¡ To what degree can users customize and personalize (‘tailor’)?
® Sourceness: Who did the customization (user, news editors, friend, …), and can users
manipulate this?
® Degree of customization:
LOW (e.g., filter content based on preferences) to HIGH (e.g., generate content) Often
achieved through ‘tailoring’: information is matched with and filtered according to unique
aspects of the self
à user customization enhances sense of agency
2
,At the level of the message
¡ To what extent are exchanges contingent upon previous exchanges?
§ Non-interactive
§ Reactive – message is a direct response
§ Responsive – messages are threaded together in a coherent sequence
Model of interactivity effects
Interactivity paradoxes:
The effects of interactivity at the level of the source, modality and message are not
straightforward:
- More = not always better
- Cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral effects may not align
1. Where is interactivity situated à Modality, Source, & Message
2. Psychological effects on user engagement à cognitive processing of the message, attitudes
towards message/ technology, behavior in interface
3. Differences à novel vs. experienced, involvement with content, …
Types of media discussed in this course
3 broad groups:
1. Communication technologies
2. Self-tracking technologies
3. Entertainment technologies
Interactive media and society
Impact on society
¡ How interactive media ‘work’ in relation to the psychology of the individual is one thing,
but what are the broader implications of their integration into society?
¡ How have they altered ‘how we do things’?
3
, Society and social structures
¡ Sociologists examine the Social Structures of society
= patterns in the ways in which people organize themselves These patterns shape the
ways in which people (can) behave
¡ In other words… social structures enable and constrain human action (Giddens, 1984)
¡ But… there is also human agency = an individual’s capacity to reflect on structures, to
reproduce, but also adapt, challenge and resist them
¡ This ‘duality’ between structure and agency is an interplay that oftentimes reveals how
power is distributed and negotiated in society
Okay… but why is this relevant for this course?
¡ Social structures are prescriptive: they specify a way of ‘doing things’ (Giddens, 1984) – in
other words: they make it logical to organize things repeatedly and systematically in a
certain manner
¡ There are also such ‘logics’ present in media technologies:
§ ‘Apparatgeist: the “spirit of the machine” (Katz & Aakhus, 2002, p. 305): There are
logics prescribed by the technology that direct human behavior – not in a
deterministic way, but rather by providing humans with both a “rationality of
means” (p. 306) and “constraint upon possibilities” (p. 307).
§ In other words: affordances (!!!) that enable and constrain
Hence: interactive & entertainment media
Through their affordances…
§ …technologies can directly lead to new social structures in society, when technologies
introduce new ways of doing things, changing how we organize aspects of everyday life
§ …technologies can directly reproduce or affect existing social structures in society
1. Reproducing social structures
§ Through their affordances, technologies can contribute to …
o Social change in the social structures in society
§ the reproduction of social structures in society
o New ways of doing things that emphasize the status quo;
Key concepts
¡ Technological affordances
¡ Functional, relational, contextual
¡ Threshold criteria for affordances
¡ Features vs. affordances
¡ Function creep, unintended consequences
¡ Interactivity at the level of the medium, source, message
¡ Model of interactivity effects
¡ Cognitive, attitudinal & behavioral effects of interactivity
¡ Social structures
¡ Agency
¡ Duality of structure and agency
¡ Interactive and entertainment media as contributors to social change – or to
reproducing social structures – through their capacity to make us do things in new ways
4
A digital society?
¡ Interactive and entertainment media are deeply integrated into our everyday life
¡ They have significantly altered ‘the way we do things’
§ Changes in our individual lives
§ Changes in our society
What is interactivity?
Affordances theory
à is interactivity a technological affordance?
What are technological affordances?
¡ “Perceptions of an object’s utility, its possibilities for enabling (& constraining) human
action” (Gibson, 1986)
® Functional view
® Relational view
® Contextual view
The affordances checklist
Three threshold criteria to be an affordance:
¡ Criteria #1: neither the object nor a feature of the object
the relationship between person and object means that “affordances neither belong
to the environment nor the individual, but rather to the relationship between
individuals and their perceptions of environments”
¡ Criteria #2: not the outcome
Cf. unintended consequences// Function Creep
¡ Criteria #3: has variability
Features are present or absent
Affordances are gradual (technologies can vary in the extent to which they ‘afford’
something)
An object or technology is well-designed when its affordances are readily and easily perceivable
from its features
Technological features and affordances
Interactivity is an affordance that users can perceive when the structural features of a
technological interface are well-designed.
As a side note …
Affordances remains a fuzzy concept, that is often misused… you may notice this when
processing literature on digital culture (perhaps also the literature for this course)…
1
,Interactivity: an individual in interaction with technology
Individuals ‘in interaction’ with technology
¡ What is the psychology of interactivity?
¡ In other words:
When individuals interact with technology…
Where is interactivity situated?
¡ What are its psychological effects?
¡ Is there between- and within-person variability?
Interactivity as ‘communication’
¡ When a user interacts with a technology…
§ They interact with an ‘interface’
Where is interactivity situated?
At the level of the source, the medium and the message Variability in interactivity = to what
extent can the source, medium and message be altered by the user?
Level of medium: modality interactivity
In what modality is the message processed?
¡ Modality interactivity:
§ Number of modalities present in one medium
§ Multi-mediality: extent to which modalities are simultaneously active
¡ Each modality and each combination of different modalities has a different influence on
the amount of perceptual bandwidth utilized.
¡ Extent to which sensory channels must operate together to build a mental representation
At the level of the source
¡ To what degree can users customize and personalize (‘tailor’)?
® Sourceness: Who did the customization (user, news editors, friend, …), and can users
manipulate this?
® Degree of customization:
LOW (e.g., filter content based on preferences) to HIGH (e.g., generate content) Often
achieved through ‘tailoring’: information is matched with and filtered according to unique
aspects of the self
à user customization enhances sense of agency
2
,At the level of the message
¡ To what extent are exchanges contingent upon previous exchanges?
§ Non-interactive
§ Reactive – message is a direct response
§ Responsive – messages are threaded together in a coherent sequence
Model of interactivity effects
Interactivity paradoxes:
The effects of interactivity at the level of the source, modality and message are not
straightforward:
- More = not always better
- Cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral effects may not align
1. Where is interactivity situated à Modality, Source, & Message
2. Psychological effects on user engagement à cognitive processing of the message, attitudes
towards message/ technology, behavior in interface
3. Differences à novel vs. experienced, involvement with content, …
Types of media discussed in this course
3 broad groups:
1. Communication technologies
2. Self-tracking technologies
3. Entertainment technologies
Interactive media and society
Impact on society
¡ How interactive media ‘work’ in relation to the psychology of the individual is one thing,
but what are the broader implications of their integration into society?
¡ How have they altered ‘how we do things’?
3
, Society and social structures
¡ Sociologists examine the Social Structures of society
= patterns in the ways in which people organize themselves These patterns shape the
ways in which people (can) behave
¡ In other words… social structures enable and constrain human action (Giddens, 1984)
¡ But… there is also human agency = an individual’s capacity to reflect on structures, to
reproduce, but also adapt, challenge and resist them
¡ This ‘duality’ between structure and agency is an interplay that oftentimes reveals how
power is distributed and negotiated in society
Okay… but why is this relevant for this course?
¡ Social structures are prescriptive: they specify a way of ‘doing things’ (Giddens, 1984) – in
other words: they make it logical to organize things repeatedly and systematically in a
certain manner
¡ There are also such ‘logics’ present in media technologies:
§ ‘Apparatgeist: the “spirit of the machine” (Katz & Aakhus, 2002, p. 305): There are
logics prescribed by the technology that direct human behavior – not in a
deterministic way, but rather by providing humans with both a “rationality of
means” (p. 306) and “constraint upon possibilities” (p. 307).
§ In other words: affordances (!!!) that enable and constrain
Hence: interactive & entertainment media
Through their affordances…
§ …technologies can directly lead to new social structures in society, when technologies
introduce new ways of doing things, changing how we organize aspects of everyday life
§ …technologies can directly reproduce or affect existing social structures in society
1. Reproducing social structures
§ Through their affordances, technologies can contribute to …
o Social change in the social structures in society
§ the reproduction of social structures in society
o New ways of doing things that emphasize the status quo;
Key concepts
¡ Technological affordances
¡ Functional, relational, contextual
¡ Threshold criteria for affordances
¡ Features vs. affordances
¡ Function creep, unintended consequences
¡ Interactivity at the level of the medium, source, message
¡ Model of interactivity effects
¡ Cognitive, attitudinal & behavioral effects of interactivity
¡ Social structures
¡ Agency
¡ Duality of structure and agency
¡ Interactive and entertainment media as contributors to social change – or to
reproducing social structures – through their capacity to make us do things in new ways
4
